Author's Note: Changed schedule - three times a week, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Enjoy it ;)

...

Place: Plaza

Time: The following day after Sophie signed the contract

The first day of Sophie's rehab flew by. After Aurum left and Birbon signed a contract with all the patients, they underwent rows of examinations. When the healer came and started their procedures, she began to feel like nobility, with them looking and measuring every inch of her body.

Besides the physical examination, they also asked about her emotions and life story. It was weirdly soothing to be able to talk while someone sincerely listened.

However, not everything went smoothly. Two groups fought with each other, needing to be stopped by Birbon, with him threatening to use his privileges as a retainer.

The beast-kin healer quarreled with the nature-dweller healer. While they examined her, they also argued nonstop, confusing her. However, while they didn't want to be there, Birbon still forced them, saying that it was to Alexander's accordance that both groups were necessary.

Even though they didn't stop arguing, they wouldn't dare to leave anymore. Alexander's words were worth that much, making them stay, even though they disliked each other. Sophie couldn't understand them even after they explained why they argued so much.

Nature-dwellers were the best for perfect body restoration, but they could not detect specific illnesses or mental statuses. On the other hand, beast-kin healers were the better choice for those things as they could pinpoint many injuries, diseases, etc, with their [Divinity Line]. They also healed faster but without any restorative effect.

When she asked, their arguments confused her. She did not get the gist of it since it seemed that both had their strengths and weaknesses evenly balanced out so they could work together well. It was the same with her on her construction sites; not everyone needed to be perfect or better at everything.

They even gave examples, describing their worth. One group would be used for emergencies, stabilizing the person, while the other would restore everything missing later.

For her, someone who had no idea about fighting or the military, it sounded like the perfect combination of division of labor. However, she was always silent, never trying to argue back since she might have overseen something crucial or not understood it correctly.

However, this was the day before, and now, with dawn, there was a new one. Her feelings were still the same as the weeks before, but she had a new motivation now: coins. The charity paid her to follow the schedule strictly, which she would do so zealously since she needed the coins to pay off the taxes on her and Fred's house.

Yet, her confusion started with the first task of the first day: going outside and playing a game. Even though she wouldn't question it, it was still bizarre since she was getting paid more for this than on-site, where she would break her back for a third of the pay.

Additionally, she couldn't imagine where they would play a game with so many people. Wolfsteeth was a heavily dense city, and while she saw some kittens play here and there, it was usually at parks or plazas. Even there, the guards would quickly kick them out, sometimes literally, by punting them since they disturbed the public order.

Sophie came from a small town, so she knew what space looked like if someone wanted to play with many people, which this city could not accommodate. The mayor and city manager used every inch to press more houses into every free space available, creating a strange maze of streets where new residents could not orient themselves. They mostly got lost in some bad districts and got robbed.

'They bought not only one house, wow.'

When Sophie walked out with the others, the plaza was empty, and nobody was around them in any of the houses close to them. They had the whole place for themselves.

While waiting for an announcement, she looked around, liking that the whole place was getting rebuilt. It was the northern district, harboring the worst people in their city. She also remembered a lot of rumors about the exact spot she was at, 'Isn't it the place where the crazy guy cooked the duck-kin in an orange sauce?'

Interrupting her thoughts, someone came over she recognized. It was a soldier, a low-ranking officer, who often drank where Fred worked. It was an exclusive high-class bar for high-ranked soldiers and mercenaries.

Under his arm was a leathery ball, with him wearing more casual clothing, even his tail having some weird kittenish ribbon. When he opened his mouth, it was the same as always. He screamed like he had found his family all dead at home, not able to lower his voice.

"Good day, dear Pupteeth dweller! I heard what happened and volunteered since I received help from the honorable Mr. Alexander, wanting to show my gratitude! However..." He smiled widely, showing his fangs in a friendly manner, "...don't get cocky!"

He showed them the ball he held under his arm, still smiling joyfully, "I heard that you need some exercise, and I know just the right game for this! Let's play dodgeball!"

...

Place: Nearby the rehab house, Atelier workshop

Time: After the dodgeball game

Dozens of people were inside an atelier workshop, all somewhat sweaty and tired. Gone was the silence, replaced with chatter of all kinds, with many getting to know each other and building their groups. Even though Sophie talked with someone momentarily, she wanted to be alone.

"I am so tired, damn it."

"I know, and argh! My whole body hurts!"

"Duh! Don't use energy when throwing the ball! You get it back twice as hard."

"I know, but... I got somewhat angry... hm..."

"I get it... me too, dunno why'cha."

After the game, all of them were battered and hungry, overeating when having breakfast. However, they also got a potion that would increase their appetite, which many needed as their appetite was still relatively weak, like hers.

Now they had their next schedule, and she wondered what Outer Circle would await her when it would be the same as the game before. When they played, the soldier said that it was a game that the kittens at the estate often played.

'They are all crazy.'

The ball wasn't just pure leather but also had a metal core. A hit with it almost broke all her bones, and worse, its weight was too much, even for her as a decent construction worker. Even though she had lost weight, it was still too much.

The ant-kin boy couldn't even throw it once and only dodged in fear, a thought that made her slightly happy since the day before, he had been all about wanting to die.

The door opened before she could think further about her unexpected emotion, and an excentric peacock-kin boy flamboyantly strode inside, "Good morning, my dearest of sweethearts!"

Sophie was slightly baffled, as she saw those mainly in the western or eastern districts where those artsy types lived. They generally wore colorful clothing, were in one way or another creative, and had that odd speech, very nasally.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

What did she mean with them? Her first friend she fell in love with was almost like that. However, she got dumped by him very hard when he told her that he was gay; with her having an existential crisis, not understanding it.

However, she was young and still lived in a small town where it was a big deal. Here, it was nothing special, with more than half of them actually coming from central Mal-Gil, with her remembering the mistake she made, becoming a little solemn.

Because Sophie was heartbroken, she told someone about it, trying to rant out her frustration, only seeing afterward that he was always commenting on the asses of other guys with her together while getting drunk.

However, with her naivety, she accidentally started a rumor that made him flee because she talked to someone about it. He wasn't prosecuted or thrown into prison, but since the nobility didn't accept it, his chances of getting a good job or buying a house were around zero. He needed to leave, with her hoping he was doing fine, as she still felt terrible for the mistake she made.

When the peacock-kin strolled to the front, throwing his bag on the table and sighing loudly, Sophie came out of her thoughts. As he was pulling out weird parchments, he also simultaneously talked, with her almost having a deja vu about how similar they sounded.

"It was crazy! Because all the hatchlings now have those weird classes around the city, they all run like crazy wild demons through the streets after the class is done! I get it; education is important, but can't we give them something to relax on? Like a lil' bit of wine..." He chuckled, "...well, what you know, but the weather..."

While he rambled about how the weather was ruining his skin, Sophie could only look at those beautifully white linen parchments. There were also a lot of great accessories, and she knew their prices.

She gulped, 'This is... expensive.'

Sophie always wanted to paint and did it occasionally, but with cheap parchment, on wood, or something similar. Yet those things on the table were costly, and the vibrant oil color she saw was worth at least half a year's of her salary.

"Right..." After putting everything on the table, he approached them and cleared his throat... "...ahem! My name is Picasso..." He chuckled, holding a hand before his mouth, "...I wasn't born with the name, but Mr. Alexander called me like that, and I decided to keep it."

He walked around the table, sitting down and putting one leg over the other, "Now, how to begin? Right!"

He clapped once and smiled widely, his aura radiating a certain free-living peppiness Sophie also saw in her old friend. It was nostalgic, making her want to listen to him the whole day as old memories came flooding back.

"I visited an art school in central Mal-Gil, but nothing fancy like KLU, and returned to Moorgrel..." His tone became snarky, "...because of all that nonsense going on there, just because of one of the Royals..." He sighed, drawing a smile with his index fingers on his mouth, smiling again, "...let's not talk about those uncultured losers, how the honorable Mr. Alexander likes to call them, and simply smile!"

Sophie always found it weird how disrespectful Moorgrelian could be toward the Crown. Over there, one would get immediately executed, but here, it was an open secret that nobility ignored any insults going against those over there.

When he was his vibrant self again, he straightened up, looking very proudly, "I once painted Ms. Janina's room. Seeing this, Mr. Alexander asked me to work for him as her art teacher, but nothing lasts forever, right?"

He sighed, gesturing flamboyantly sad, "Well, now she is only learning those boring magic things, and I have nothing to do but..." He stood up, gesturing wildly, "...Mr. Alexander asked me to become a teacher somewhere else and work on some other projects like teaching orphans, which is quite the challenge, and now I am here!"

His smile widened, though she could sense a tinge of sadness. People like him were terrible at hiding their emotions, always showing them openly.

"I heard everything from him about what was going on here, so..." He took the white parchments, distributing them, his tone becoming sensitive and low, almost as if showing pitty, "...we will thus draw what you feel. If you feel nothing, please do it too. Show me your innermost vulnerable!"

...

Place: Sophie's room

Time: After the painting

Like the day before, she sat on the bed again, but not alone as before. A fairy sat before Sophie, healing her and chatting. However, she wasn't nice, not coming even close to those she had heard about in fairy tales. Usually, they would be happy, sing songs, and try to cheer one up when one was sad. This one, though, had a resting bitch face, not able to smile even once.

"You stink."

Also, she wasn't holding anything back, with Sophie immediately not knowing what to do but apologizing.

"I... sorry?"

The fairy shrugged, "Don't worry, the whole city and region stinks of this miasma, bah!"

"I... guess."

Nonetheless, Sophie sniffed as inconspicuously as possible at herself and was surprised that she meant the miasma and not her because she was well due for a bath, but for this, she would need to wait until late evening.

For now, she would need to wait until the procedure was finished. The fairy, though, wasn't too happy about being here, healing. She complained pretty openly about it.

"Urgh, two hours every day."

Sophie became confused, not knowing this detail, "Every day and for two hours?!"

While it was great to get healed, it was nonetheless a lot after hearing a concrete number. She suddenly felt ashamed that she would occupy those critical resources, like the healer from the Temple for so much, knowing very well that they could also heal those who needed it the most.

The fairy had a less calm reaction, "Did the fat fuck didn't tell you? You will be healed daily now as we try a method here."

Another word Sophie didn't hear when she signed the contract.

"Method?"

The fairy frowned, sounding annoyed, but still tried to explain.

"Yeah, we have multiple groups of you people trying to cure the ailment you have. Your group is the slowest on purpose, with us trying to heal you gradually over multiple weeks. Some will use more radical methods, like surgery, but they are still pretty safe with Green there."

Sophie didn't understand but was too afraid to say so, but got the general gist. As long as there was no danger, it was okay for her.

"I... understand."

"Now, what's..." She nodded toward the desk, "...the ugly painting here?"

Sophie looked saddened, "It's my... innermost feelings."

"Huh, keep going. You really need a cure when this is what your inner life looks like."

Sophie chuckled but immediately stopped, staring confused into the void, 'I... laughed?'

It was one of those moments when she felt clarity, with her panic being containable, not making her cry out randomly. It was a wonderful feeling, almost elevating.

'Ira... Fred...'

However, nothing was perfect. While Sophie had those urges before, which were still there to some extent, she additionally now had all the memories she had ignored coming back in full force, making her remember things that were nothing but a blur.

Now, she saw them more clearly, still not as if they were before her, but enough to make two radically different emotions flare up simultaneously, losing herself in it—unforgiving rage, wanting to murder Ira, and regret coupled with suicidalness because she most likely lost her soulmate, Fred.

'I... can't...'

Even though she felt a clarity like nothing before, it became worse. It was just that she wasn't drowning in the mud anymore but in water— a horrific state of mind she didn't want to have.

Her body shivered, and her mind became a mumbled mess of all the emotions she didn't want to feel coming back and assaulting her. It was disgusting, if not sadistic, to want to cure her with her now feeling the consequences of her actions.

Sophie lost the only person who always stood by her side, even when she went through her worst phases.

'I...'

Sophie clenched her hands, thinking it was all worthless without a soulmate. There was only one in life, and the feeling was incredible. She had someone who she could trust in her life and couldn't wish for someone different.

'I can't...'

At first, it was bumpy, but it became natural over time, and multiple mating seasons later, Fred had her scent, and Sophie had his. Of course, it was none of those tales where one saw someone and immediately got struck by forever love, but what they had was hard work—seventy years of hard and wonderful work to create a bond, only broken by a drug.

She clenched her teeth and fangs, rubbing them against each other, listening to the cracking sound. She wanted to feel more pain, barring her nails into her thighs, avoiding all those emotions that came rushing back to her.

'I want to en...'

The fairy interrupted her thoughts, sounding annoyed and clicking her tongue like a thug, "Can you calm down? What's the matter? Really?"

Sophie turned to her, still in her state of panic and jittery, "I.. I can't do it... it's..."

"Now shut up for a moment; I need a second."

The fairy stopped her healing and pulled out multiple pages of those new papers with dense text written on them. When looking through it, she scrunched her face, sighing loudly, "All right, I got it..."

The fairy looked at her, becoming creepily friendly, "So, please tell me exactly how you feel. Please don't be ashamed. I will listen and don't judge whatever you say, and everything you say will be held as a secret even before Mr. Alexander since he promised it, okay?"

Sophie became a little confused but remembered that it was the same as the day before, with them listening to her. She knew the drill, and after an anxious moment, she started to talk, telling all her emotions.

Like that, hours passed, with the fairy listening and writing it down. After some time, she also started healing again, but Sophie was allowed to continue talking.

For an unknown reason, it felt refreshing, with her anxiety still there but contained to some extent. Like that, her first day ended, like an adventure of emotions she never knew was possible.

...

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